It appears Delta schools will face a full-scale strike before the end of this school year.
In a news conference Wednesday following a Labour Relations Board ruling against teachers, B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker said rotating strikes would likely continue next week and a full-blown strike is possible the following week.
According to the federation, a vote to escalate job action will occur either Monday or Tuesday. The BCTF on its Twitter account stated maximum pressure is needed to get a fair deal.
The board backed the 10 per cent wage cut by the employer to teachers who participated in rotating strikes over the past two weeks, ruling the rollback can continue.
In a five-page decision, vice-chair Richard Longprey noted he's satisfied that neither the rotating strikes nor lockout penalties contravene the code.
In an effort to put pressure on government as contract talks dragged, teachers stepped up job action last week by starting a series of rotating strikes. Every school district in the province was hit for one day with Delta schools behind picket lines last Wednesday. Teachers continued the job action this week, closing Delta schools on Monday.
When the second week of rotating strikes was announced, Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer said they were forced to step up job acton because they've been at the bargaining table for 16 months with the provincial government and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association still refusing to offer any improvements to class size, class composition and other important learning conditions for students. On top of that, the employer's wage demands are unfair, he said.
In response to teachers launching the strikes, the BCPSEA, the body negotiating on behalf of government, fired back with the partial lockout and a pay cut, a move the BCTF described as contradictory, confusing, and chaotic.
The LRB ruling is a blow for teachers as the saga drags and acrimony grows, making it look like a negotiated contract settlement won't occur until this summer, if at all.
In a letter to B.C. school trustees today, Teresa Rezansoff, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said a negotiated settlement must be reached soon, adding that the end of term for students must not be compromised, and a successful start of term in September is an absolute necessity.
"Both parties have repeatedly stated that they want to reach a negotiated settlement.The time for serious and concentrated bargaining is now. We call on the BCTF and the government to redouble their efforts and negotiate all summer if necessary to end the current unrest, " she said.
